New signing Neil Eardley insists Orient cannot afford to dwell on their defeat to Colchester United with another crucial match at home to Scunthorpe United this weekend.

The Wales international made his debut in the O’s disappointing 2-0 defeat on Saturday. Right-back Eardley has joined the club on a one-month loan from Birmingham City but his first taste of action for Orient did not go to plan.

Eardley said: “It’s obviously not the start I would have wanted. It’s a disappointing result for us all but we’ll just look forward to next week now. That game is gone and we can’t dwell on it for too long in this division so we’ll look forward to the game against Scunthorpe this weekend.

“It is a battle no matter where you are in the league. You’re going to have tough games and it’s always going to be a battle. But being down there is not somewhere we want to be and we’ll look to get out of it as soon as possible.”

The 26-year-old will hope to get his first win as an O’s player this weekend when the East Londoners host fellow strugglers Scunthorpe.

He said: “Obviously I’m looking forward to it from a personal point of view, with it being at home and it is a big game. But I think they all are important from now until the end of the season. They are all massive games so obviously we will be working hard on the training ground to try and put things right. Hopefully that will help us get the right result on Saturday.”

It has been a frustrating time for the former Blackpool defender since moving to St Andrew’s in the summer of 2013. A serious knee injury ruled him out for almost the whole of last season. He was in the team at the start of this campaign but has struggled for games after Gary Rowett was appointed as manager in October.

Eardley said: “I signed for Birmingham at the start of last year. I started off the season quite well and unfortunately picked up a cruciate injury and that was me for the whole of last season. I’ve gone back in this year and got a good pre-season under my belt at Birmingham.

“I played a few games at the start of the season and then the new manager has come in and the team he has picked from the beginning have done really well for him.

“It’s been difficult to get back into the side so obviously when the opportunity came around to come to Orient it was a great chance for me to get out and enjoy my football again.”

He added: “Minutes are important for me. It’s a good opportunity for me to come and play some football and enjoy myself. Hopefully I can do that here and put in some good performances which can help the club move in the right direction.”

When asked if he wanted to extend his time at Brisbane Road, Eardley replied: “It’s not really up to me to be honest. I’ve been allowed to come here for a month initially and I think it’s an emergency loan so it can be extended. We’ll just have to wait and see how things go.”